Automatic sheet folding and envelope feeding machine



E. W. vKUMMER Dec. 8, 1959 Filed Sept. 7. 1955 AUTOMATIC SHEET FOLDIING AND ENVELOPE FEEDING MACHINE 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR ERNST W. //MMER ATToRNEY AUTOMATIC SHEET FOLDING AND ENvELoPE FEEDING MACHINE Filed sept. 7. 19.55

E. W. KUMMER Dec. 8, 1959 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Dec. 8, 1959 E. w.'KuMMER 2,915,364

Au'rom'rrc swam FOLDING AND ErwELoPE mmc momma:

Filed Sepkf. 7, 1955 6 Sheats$heet :5

ERA/s T W. KUMMER ATTORNEYS `INVENTOR Dec. 8, 1959 Filed Sept. 7 1955 E. W. KUMMER AUTOMATIC SHEET FOLDING AND ENVELQPE FEEDING MACHINE 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 ERNST W. KUMMER ATTORNEY@ AUTOMATIC SHEET FOLDING AND YENVELOPE FEEDING MACHINE Filed sept. '1. 1955 E. W. KUMMER 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR [RA/5T l/V. HUMMER ATTORNEYS Dec. 8, 1959 E. w. KUMMER 2,915,864

AUTOMATIC SHEET FOLDING AND ENVELOPE FEEDING MACHINE Filed sept. '1. 1955 s sheets-sheet e INVENTOR .ERA/6T W. AaM/v/.e-Rf` BY JM, wfgm ATTORNEYS fitted rates areY AUTOMATIC SHEET FOLDING AND ENVELPE FEEDING MACHINE Ernst W. Kummer, Berlin-Dahlem, Germany Application September 7, '1955, Serial No. '532,965

12 Claims. (Cl. S3-117) This invention relates to sheet folding and envelope filling apparatus and particularly to improvements in such apparatus for speeding up operation by providing certain automatically actuated features.

This is an improvement over the sheet folding and envelope lilling apparatus disclosed in my copending application Serial No. 477,872 tiled December 27, 1954 and in particular it relates to special controls for starting and actuating the mechanism through a cycle.

The major object of the invention is to provide a sheet folding and envelope filling apparatus of novel construction with special power drive and control features.

It is a further object of the invention to provide novel control in sheet folding mechanism.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel cam and control lever arrangement in a sheet folding and envelope filling apparatus.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel sheet folding and envelope lling apparatus embodying a power drive and a special automatic drice disconnect after each cycle of operation.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a novel sheet folding and envelope filling apparatus wherein the successive operations are effected through a common drive shaft arrangement having a clutch that disconnects the drive after one operational cycle.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel sheet folding mechanism control adjacent the lenvelope `of a sheet folding and envelope filling machine according to a preferred embodiment of the invention;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the same showing the `power drive and clutch controls;

Figure 3 is a top view of the apparatus of Figures 1 and 2;

Figure 4 is a front view of the apparatus of Figures 1-3 showing the trip for the power drive control;

Figure 5 is an enlarged side elevation of the clutch end of the cam shaft;

Figure 6 is a top plan View showing envelope mount structure and adjustment;

Figure 7 is a fragmentary side View that illustrates the cam control of the folding plate; and

Figure 8 is another fragmentary side View that illustrates cam control of the sheet stop fingers and the position adjustment for those fingers.

The apparatus is mounted on a base 11 to which is ixed an electric motor 12 that has its output shaft 13 connected at one end through a suitable gear box to a transverse drive shaft 14 carrying drive pulleys 15 and 16.

A belt 17 connects pulley 15 to a pulley 18 on the 'shaft 19 of a rubber covered roller 21 constituting the lower member of a paper sheet feed pass having a similar but idly rotatable upper roller 22. Upper roller 22 misgaat' Patented Dec. S, 1959 has its ends rotatably mounted in the bifurcated upper ends of the vertical arms of a U-shaped bracket 23 that is suitably pivoted to rock aboutthe axis of shaft i9 and may be locked in adjusted angular position along slot 24 by a clamp nut assembly 25. This adjustment of bracket 23 does not change the separation of the paper feed rollers at the pass but merely the angle and location of the admission throat.

A belt 26 connects pulley i6 to the pulley 27 that is loosely mounted on the end of a cross shaft 2S and adapted to be selectively clutched to shaft 28 atvthe option of the operator to actuate the apparatus through motor powered drive for a cycle of operation and then to automatically disconnect pulley 27 from shaft 2S.

A trip lever 30 is fixed to a transverse rock rod 311 journalled at opposite ends in the support side walls 32 and 33, and lever 30 has a wide handle portion 34 so that it may be more readily actuated. rReferring to Figures 2 and 5,`an arm 35 is fixed on the end of rock rod 31 and it has an inclined cam face 36 urged against a pin 37 fixed on a latch lever 35 pivoted'at 39 on wall 33 and biased clockwise byrspring 4l. A spring 4t? secured at one end to arm 35 normally biases trip lever 30 and arm 35 counterclockwise.

When trip lever 30 is moved clockwise in Figure 2, face 36 cams latch lever 33 to rock counterclockwise about pivot 39. This removes stop face 42 on latch lever S8 from the tip 43 of a lever 44 that is intermediately pivoted about the axis of rod'31 and to which the upper end of spring 4l is connected. Near its upper eno lever 44 `is pivot'ally connected -at '45 to a guide and support bar 46 slotted at 47 to receive a pin 48 on the end of a crank 49 which is fixed upon a pivoted shaft 5l which also carries the hook Alever 11@ hereinafter described.

At its upper end lever 44 has a xed pin 52 upon which bears one end of a lever 53 intermediately pivoted on wall 33 at 54 and biased counterclockwise by spring 55. Thus when lever 44 is unlatched from lever 38 spring il pulls it clockwise toward its Figure 5 position and lever 53 follows pin 52 to rock counterclockwise under the influence of spring 55.

Figure 2 shows the parts upon the start of an operation with lever 44 latched by lever 38, and in this condition the end of lever 53 is disposed in the path of a lock .-pawl 56 freely pivoted at 57 on a disk 58 rigid with shaft 28. in this position pawl 56 has a nose 59 projecting into a notch 61 in the end of a drive pawl 62 that is pivoted on disk 5S at 63 and biased clockwise by spring 64. In this Figure 2 position of the parts shaft 28 is thus locked against rotation although pulley 27 is being continuously rotated from the motor 12.

Therefore when lever 30 is moved clockwise, thereby resulting in counterclockwise rocking of lever 53 about its pivot 54, this removes lever 53 from blocking relation vto lock pawl 56 and under the iniiuence of spring 64 the drive pawl 62 is rocked to engage tooth 65 with a unidirectional toothed ratchet member 60 iixed on pulley 27, as shown in Figure 5. Pawl 56 assumes an inoperative intermediate position limited by a fixed pin 66 on disk 5S. Now pulley 27 drives shaft 28.

However, when the operator releases trip lever 3@ spring 46 pulls it and rod 3i and arm back to the Figure 2 position, and spring 41 pulls levers 38 and 44 back to their latched Figure 2 position. As lever 44 rocks back toward the dotted line position of Figure 5, pin 52 moves along the underside of levei `53 and restores the latter to 4its Figure 2 position where its end 67 engages and blocks the other nose 63 of lock pawl '56 and swings the latter counterclookwise until nose 59 enters notch 61 and swings drive pawl 62 counterclockwise out of drive engagement with ratchet member 165, and this declutches the drive and stops rotation of shaft 28. Since, as will appear, in normal operation the operator usually immediately releases lever 30 after moving it to trip position the rotation of'sha'ft 28 is, limited to one revolution and the parts are restored to the Figure 2 position awaiting another trip of lever 30. f The particular clutch structure provided between pulley 27` and shaft 28 is not material to'the invention which contemplates any suitable clutch there which will accomplish a single revolution of shaft 28 when tripped.

Referring to Figures 1-3 the paper feed station is disposed at 70 and comprises a platform 71on which may be disposed a stack of paper sheets to be fed one by one into the roller pass 21, 22 by the reciprocating action of intermittent feed roller assembly 72 as determined by a link 73 driven from cam 74 on camshaft 28 which may be; generally the same as disclosed .in my copending ap-A plication Serial No. 468,927 filed November 15, 1954. Sheet side edge guide pads of sponge rubber or the like Y 7'51 are connected as by differential threaded couplings to Y an` adjustment rod 76 which has a handle 77, so that rotation of handle 77 Vin one direction laterally separates pads 75 and rotation of handle 77 in the other direction moves them together. This adjustment regulates the side pressures of ythe guides 75 on the stack of paper and enables single sheet feed off the top of the stack.

After traversing the roller pass 21, 22 the sheets slide `down the inclined table 76 which has parallel vertical side guides 77 and 78 differentially connected to an adjustment rod 79 operated by knob 80 Vwhich when turned in lopposite directions separates or moves together vthe side guides 77 and 78. Y p `Table 7'6 comprises a movable portion consisting Vof first fold plate 81 that is oppositely pivoted on the side walls at'82 and 83 and a pusher or second fold plate 84 that is slidably connected as by a bar 85 to the under- .side of plate 81.

that is connected by pivoted links `87 and 88 and a cam follower roller 89 to a face grooved cam 91 fixed on shaft 28. The lower part of the table is a stationary plate 92 having a plurality of slots 93 up through which project sheet edge contact pins 94.

In operation a sheet passing lthrough Ithe roller pass 21, 22 slides down over -inclined stationary tableV 76, over plates 81 and `84 which are then disposed coplanar with At pivot `83a a gear 90 is provided meshed with a pivoted segment 86 (Figures 2 and 7) table 7'6 and over plate 92 to be stopped by their edge contacting stop pins 94.

During the rst fold operation plates S1 and 84 swing together as a unit through 180 toward the left in Figures 2 and 7, by the action of cam 91, linkage 87 and 88, gear segment 86 and gear 90. This accomplishes the first fold in the lower third of the sheet and disposes the free end of the paper against the upright surface 190 above resilient throat assembly 100 ready for the second fold operation which is accomplished in timed relation by kplate 84 detaching from plate 81 and sliding to the left pins `94 which are laterally aligned across plate 92 is determined by a slidably adjustable stop 101 that engages an arm 102 rigid with shaft 96. f

In Figure 3 are shown fold elements 114 that are swung inwardly across the sheet above plate 92'prior tos the first fold operation and then returned to Figure 3" position after the first fold operation and before pusher 84 starts to slide. This is accomplished by cam 115 om' shaft 28 which through followerV 116 operates lever 117g link 118 and rock rod assemblies 119 that are connected? at their lower ends by bar 121i Fig. 4. The purposef of swinging fold elements 1'14 inwardly is to retain thef paper sheet flat on the plate 92 as plates y81 and'84 swing as a unit to overlie plate 92 during the first fold operation. After this first fold is complete elements 114 are swung back to their Figure 3 position so that the pusher yS4 can push the partially folded sheet toward the throat assemblyr100.YV `2 Figure 4 illustrates the Acamshaft 28 on which is mounted all of the cams' for accomplishing the foregoing in timed relation, Vand the details not described'here and the sequenceof'operation are the same'as disclosed and claimed in my said Vcopendin'g application Serial No. 477,872 filed December 27, 1954 and reference isrnade to that application for any furtherdetail needed to understand the herein claimed invention. v Y

The resilient flared throat assembly 100 comprises an upwardly curved member 103 that is disposed above plate 92 and presents surface 90. Spring and'guidewpin assemblies indicated at 104 control'separation ofmember 103 and plate 92 in accord with the thickness of the materialpassing through it. Y e I At the lower end of plate 92 lower Yenvelopeguide plates 105 and 106 are mounted thereon for slidable 'lateral 'separation adjustment' asV by slots-y Y107 and 'fasteners 108i This provides fori dilferent v'vidth envelopes to be slipped open-mounted over plates 105,106 to receive the folded sheet material pushed throught-theV throat by pusher plate 84. The flat side of the envelope is uppermost and slides over the rearwardly extending tongue 109 on throat member 103.` v

It will berobserved that theupper end of the trip lever 30 is disposed just below the envelope filling station at 105, 106 so thatV when the operator places the open envelope onto plates 105, 106 and tongue 109 he may with a finger of the same hand that holds the envelope there tilt lever 30 toward the Vapparatus until the latch 38 is tripped. By this action the clutch automatically Vis engaged'to rotate shaft 28 through an operative cycle duringwhich a sheet on the table is accordion folded and pushed through the resilient throat into the envelope being held by the'oper- 1 ators hand at 105, 106, and then stopped, the automatic in Figure 3 with respect to folded-over plate 81. This sliding of plate 84 is sequentially accomplished by having its bar 85 hook in the folded-over 180 position with pivoted lever 110 that is actuated counterclockwise in Figure 2 by cam 1.11 and associated levers 112l and'113. Fig. 4 as plate 84 slides through the resilient throat assembly it forms the second fold in the sheet and at thesame time pushes the accordion folded sheet through the throat 100 into an envelope as will appear. The actuation and operation of pusher 85 and its mounting on plate 81 are essentially the same as disclosed in said Serial No. 477,872. At the conclusion of the firstfold operation the pins 94 are pulled down in timed relation out of the path of the sheet, each pin 94 being mounted on a post 95 rigidly upstanding from a rock shaft 96 pivoted to a link 97 controlled by cam 98 on shaft 28. Rock shaft 96 is resiliently biased counterclockwise by spring 99 and the operative longitudinal position of the operation including the 4feed of'another sheetr from the stack yat 70 through the roller pass and downover the table to rest against pins 94 ready for another fold action.

The Yinvention may be embodied in other specific4 forms wi-thout departing from the spirit or essentialcharacteristics thereof. The present embodiments are therefore to be considered in allvrespects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being'indicated by the 'appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within themeaning and range of yequivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein., g

Wha't'is claimed and desired Vto :be secured. by United States Letters Patent is: g .Y

1. In a Sheet Vfolding and envelope lling machine, means defining a stationary envelope mounting and filling passage, means for folding a sheet and thrusting it into an envelope on said passage defining means, a continuously operable electric motor, normally inactive drive and control means between said motor and saidfolding means comprising a normally disengaged unidirectional'single revolution clutch, and manual means lfor engaging said clutch for activating said drive and control means to automatically accomplish a single cycle of operation.

2. In a sheet folding and envelope filling machine, a support means defining a stationary envelope mounting and filling passage mounted in a predetermined fixed location on said support, means for folding a sheet and thrusting it into an envelope on said passage defining means, a

continuously operable motor, a rotatable control shaft having thereon elements connected for actuating said sheet folding means, a normally disconnected drive connection between said motor and said shaft comprising a unidirectional clutch, manually operated means for actuating said clutch for establishing said drive connection for driving said shaft through a single cycle of operation of said folding means, and means for then disconnecting said drive connection after a single revolution of said shaft.

3. In the machine defined in claim 2, said manually operated means having a trip member adjacent said passage dening means so that said member may be moved to cause establishment of said drive connection by the hand of the operator placing an envelope on said passage defining means.

4. In a sheet folding and envelope filling machine, means defining a stationary envelope mounting and filling passage, means for folding a sheet and thrusting it into an envelope on said passage defining means, a motor, a continuously operable control shaft having elements thereon connected for actuating said sheet folding means, a normally `disengaged clutch between the motor and said shaft, a manual trip member operably connected to said clutch adapted to effect engagement to drive couple the motor to the shaft, and clutch control means driven by said shaft for automatically disengaging said clutch after a predetermined rotation of said shaft.

5. In combination, means defining a stationary envelope mounting and filling passage, a table adjacent said passage, means providing a stack of sheets, means for feeding the uppermost sheet of said stack onto the table, mechanism for folding said sheet on the table and thrusting it into an envelope on said envelope mounting passage, control means operably connected bothto said feed means and said mechanism, means for actuating said control means through a single complete cycle wherein a sheet on the table is -folded and thrust into an envelope and a fresh sheet is fed onto the table ready for another operational cycle, and means for automatically inactivating said control means after said cycle.

6. In subcombination in a sheet folding and envelope filling machine, a sheet receiving platform having a slot, a sheet edge contacting member projecting through said lslot above the platform surface, a pivoted support for said member, and means for actuating said support to withdraw and restore said member through said slot above the platform surface, a pivoted support for said member, and means for actuating said support to withdraw and restore said member through said slot during an operational cycle of said machine.

7. In the subcombination defined in claim 6 an adjustable stop for selecting the operative position of said member along said slot.

8. In a sheet folding and envelope filling machine, a

sheet receiving platform, an envelope mounting funnel at one end of said platform, mechanism for folding a sheet lying on said platform and thrusting it into an envelope held on said funnel by a hand of an operator, and motor driven means for actuating said mechanism having a control handle disposed adjacent said funnel for actuation by said hand of the operator holding the envelope on the funnel.

9. In a sheet folding machine, a table having a plurality of incorporated and associated parts relatively movable to fold an overlying sheet, a control shaft having a plurality of cams connected to sequentially operate said parts, a motor, a continuously operable normally disengaged clutch between the motor and shaft, means for engaging said clutch to drive the shaft from said motor, and means for disengaging said clutch a-fter a single revolution of said shaft.

10. In the machine defined in claim 9, a latch mechanism in the clutch normally holding the shaft idle, said means for engaging the clutch comprising means for releasing said latch, and said means for disengaging the clutch comprising means for releasing said latch, and said means for disengaging the clutch comprising means actuated by the clutch for restoring the latch mechanism to hold said shaft against rotation.

1l. In a sheet folding mechanism, a support adapted to underlie a sheet to be folded, means slidable over said support for folding said sheet and thrusting it into an envelope mounting funnel, a pivoted hook member adapted to engage and operate said slidable means, a continuously operable motor, a rotatable shaft having a cam operably connected to said hook member, means including a single revolution clutch mechanism drive for connecting said motor to said shaft, a motion transmitting member connected between said hook member and said clutch mechanism, and a manual trip for said clutch mechanism located adjacent said funnel.

12. In 4a sheet folding and envelope filling apparatus, a platform for receiving a sheet to be folded, means providing an open envelope mounting funnel at one end of said platform, sheet stops mounted on a pivoted member and projecting above the platform surface adjacent Said funnel, means on said plat-form for folding a sheet lying thereon and thrusting it into said funnel, drive means for periodically actuating said folding means through a predetermined cycle comprising a rotatable shaft, means for automatically withdrawing said sheet stops below the platform surface prior to thrusting said folded sheet into the vfunnel during each said cycle, means on said shaft and associated resilient means cooperating for moving said pivoted member to withdraw and restore said sheet stops during each cycle, and means `for adjusting said sheet stops toward or away from said funnel comprising an adjustable stop determining the pivoted position of said member.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,569,219 Bamber Sept. 25, 1951 2,613,741 Battersby Oct. 14, 1952 2,728,178 Kern Dec. 27, 1955y 

